Graves' Disease Support Group

Graves-Basedow disease is a medical disorder that may manifest several different conditions including hyperthyroidism (over activity of thyroid hormone production), infiltrative exophthalmos (protruberance of one or both eyes and associated problems) and infiltrative dermopathy (a skin condition usually of the lower extremities). This disorder is the most common cause of...

When to call the opthalmologist?

I just had a *thorough* exam 8 weeks ago by my opthalmologist who said everything looked excellent. I am 46.

Meanwhile, my eyes have been giving me problems. In the past 2 weeks, headlight edges have become rough/textured and fuzzy and I have trouble with focus and now my eyes feel pressured/slightly bulged today.

I'm wondering if these are all related now!

If I did have Graves' ophthalmopathy, would it be super urgent that I call him right away, or could it wait a couple of days until I hear about this bloodwork first?

The last time I called him, out of ordinary sequence, for optical migraines, he was very abrasive about it, so I'd like to wait, if it isn't terribly urgent.

Sorry you are having difficulties. Your eyes can be affected according to how your liver is doing and to your thyroid antibodies.

If it were me, I'd want to know what my GD thyroid antibodies are doing - the TSI and the TRAb as well as how my Free T3 and Free T4 are doing.

If the Free Ts are too low (many of us do better with these at the mid to the upper third ranges) could also explain.

An example in my case that I was sick nearly a year ago with a dehydration and many of my labs were off including the Free Ts. I had some kind of infection going on in my body.

I have since recovered, but still suffer with many symptoms which now includes new allergies and/or intolerances (sensitivities) and MCS (multiple chemical sensitivities) to certain foods, scents, exposures to chemicals and toxins, etc. that I am working through with my holistic doctor. All these things have to go through the liver to be processed.

I am taking a liver support which helps some with my eyes including taking a vitamin B complex (it doesn't have the inactive ingredients that makes me ill) which is part of my multivits, among few other vits/supps which also includes the enzymes to get myself back on track.

From what I have been reading online, they say that the eyes first notice what is going around and how it sees, so it is how the liver is doing and needing to heal from this.

I have Graves ophthalmopathy and my first symptom was inability to wear contacts due to dry eyes. The dry eyes got worse over next couple of months and then trouble focusing which developed into double vision. It is important to see an ophthalmologist for several reasons. It is good to have a baseline Hertel reading, which is how far your eyes normally protrude, to watch for increased protrusion. Most important is to check for decreased vision as your optic nerve can be affected. Most people have minimal eye issues with fluctuations in thyroid hormone levels, but others, like me, have the eye disease. I do have increased migraines with Graves, especially if hyperthyroid. Find an ophthalmologist who is familiar with Graves. There is probably no urgency unless you feel you are losing vision or have difficulty seeing colors, especially red. Some effects of the eye disease can be reversible in some people. In my case, multiple surgeries are necessary. Fortunately, severe eye involvement is relatively rare which is why it is sometimes hard to find eye docs with a lot of experience with it. Hope this helps.

I agree... Probably the most urgent needs are to have your thyroid levels checked and under control, assuming that this is what causing your eye problems.
However, there are so many more things that can happen, I would probably bring this up to the doctor who is working you up for thyroid disease and see what he/she says.
I know that when I had eye problems, ice helped and this is how I knew it was Graves. I also went to the ophtalmologist and they told
Me everything was normal, but I knew it wasn't just by the way I felt and how high my hormones were.

I'm 50 years old, divorced over 9 years, no children. I live with my dog. I didn't realize until recently how I let my Mom makes me feel guilty. She is retired now and she makes statements implying that I need to make payments for some of her bills, or since I'm the one making more money now, I should pay for some of her things. I used to pay some of her bills but have stopped. I have my own...

So when me and my boyfriend were flirting, i would make jokes that were innapropriate with one of my close friends because thats just what we did that was our friendship basically. Recently, he brought it up and said that he felt that i used him as an option when i didnt. I wasnt aware that i was flirting with my friend . I just saw it as us joking around because that was the "norm" we had....

All content posted on this site is the responsibility of the party posting such content.
Participation on this site by a party does not imply endorsement of any other party's content,
products, or services. Content should not be used for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.